IDENTITY IN FEMININE FIGURES: THE ART OF ANNEZINA DAMPOLIA

Portes Magazine
2 days ago
4 min read

Artist Annezina Dampolia blends architectural precision with ancient symbolism to explore femininity, identity, and cultural heritage. Her signature Logo Lady—inspired by figures from 8th-century skyphoi—embodies strength, motherhood, and liberation, reclaiming the reverence once given to the female form.

Rooted in her background in architecture and monument restoration, Dampolia’s work bridges the geometric harmony of antiquity with the emotional depth of modern womanhood, creating timeless pieces that honor both history and self-discovery.

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PORTES EDITOR: Your signature figure—the Logo Lady—is both bold and symbolic. What does she represent in the context of femininity, freedom, and cultural identity?

ANNEZINA DAMPOLIA: This female figure has become such an integral part of my work that I find it difficult to break her down in order to explain her. I remember seeing these women on the skyphos and deciding to bring them into my geometric compositions. I carved breasts onto them—and later vulvas—so that these parts of their bodies would appear naked and proud, as symbols of strength, femininity, and motherhood.

What unsettled me was that, though in earlier pre–patriarchal societies, female bodies were expressed with reverence and love, in my own time they are hidden, objectified, and often treated as vessels of shame. I wanted to set them free.

Logo Lady Studio was born from a deeply personal journey of empowerment and identity. How did the idea for this brand evolve, and in what ways has it helped you redefine yourself as a woman, mother, and artist?

When I became a wife and mother, I chose to step away from my profession to dedicate myself to raising my child. Gradually, I distanced myself from everything that belonged to my former life and found myself caught in traditional roles and expectations. I had made these choices out of love, and I deeply care for my family, but a profound shift had taken place, almost without me realizing it. During the lockdown, I found myself searching for my lost identity. At the same time, the MeToo movement was unfolding, and I began to question everything. Art became something I held onto -it gave me a way to express myself and reconnect with who I was. As I grow my creative work and develop my brand, I continue to feel more empowered and to reclaim my place in the world.

How has your background in architecture and monument restoration influenced your design?

Profoundly and completely. When I paint, it feels like I’m doing architectural composition—free from structural constraints. My professor and mentor, architect Vassilis Ganiatsas, taught me to approach every composition with a philosophical mindset. Every line, every element serves a purpose within the whole and carries meaning in the overall composition. Later, as I studied conservation and restoration of historic buildings and sites, I felt a strong connection to buildings that carry history—the patina of time and the traces of human touch. That sense of timelessness is what I try to infuse into the pieces I create—as if they were objects in a museum collection.

What is it about the Geometric Period's patterns and symbols that speak to you?

During the lockdown, I found myself craving connection with culture and art. In my hands, I had recently acquired an album of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, presenting its collections. I’m not entirely sure what draws me so deeply to the designs of the Geometric Art—perhaps the sense of order, the geometry, their elegance, and uncompromising simplicity. I decided to study their visual language and reinterpret it symbolically, using it to express something of my own. From an Attic geometric skyphos of the 8th century B.C., which depicts women and men dancing in a circle, I isolated a single female figure. She became the emblem of my brand.

How has your Hellenic heritage influenced this visual language—and what cultural or mythological threads you feel most drawn to?

I have a deep love for museum collections and art. I often travel around Greece, visiting museums and art galleries where I discover works that either make me want to return to my studio and create something of my own, or I come across objects that carry stories I feel compelled to discover. One exhibition that recently inspired me was Kykladitisses at the Museum of Cycladic Art. These are the kinds of images that help me develop my personal visual vocabulary—one that is rooted, as mentioned, in my background in architecture, monument restoration, and the study of traditional settlements. I also come from Mani, a region with strong, specific characteristics, where the socioeconomic conditions shaped a unique landscape. Every time I return there, it continues to inspire me.

The Greece of the 1950s to 1970s carries a unique aesthetic and emotional resonance. Is there something about this specific era that inspires your creativity?

My aesthetic was shaped during my years at the school of architecture. Our teachers had either lived and worked through those decades or had studied themselves alongside the key figures of that era, passing down to us the spirit of a time when modernism and Aris Konstantinidis’ critical regionalism were dominant. I was taught to compose with simple, clean lines—but at the same time to observe and incorporate elements and principles from Greece’s rich tradition of vernacular architecture.

And yet, although I studied architecture, it was painting that truly moved me. Some of my most vivid memories from those years are of painting on Pikionis’ stone–paved path to the church of St. Dimitrios Loumbardiaris, under the guidance of Professor Sotiris Sorogas, or listening to Alekos Fassianos speak to us about his relationship with architecture. Also, Yannis Moralis, Nikos Hadjikyriakos–Ghikas, and Yannis Tsarouchis are to me great teachers, and their works are deeply embedded in my memory and artistic consciousness.